1) A Teacher, again! I got the opportunity to substitute for the Chorus teacher at a local middle school last week and this past Monday while she recovered from foot surgery. It was great to get back in the classroom. I really love teaching and have missed it while I've been home. The teacher left me with a folder for each class and let me move them along at my own pace (which is quick, by the way! I don't like to waste time!). We had a great week. The kids worked hard for me, and only 2 eighth graders really gave any issue (insignificant in the grand scheme of things). I felt like I made a lot of progress with them, reassuring me that I haven't lost my skills. I hope I can continue to sub on occasion, because while working with the church youth choir is satisfying, it's not quite the same as teaching in school.
Of course, I also got a taste of juggling work, house work, and child care. It was tiring. I realize the balance will be different when i go back to work for real, but it was certainly a good glimpse at how things might change. Luckily the work hours at this school allowed me to get home by 3:30pm each day and be able to have time with Abbie for at least a few hours before bedtime.
2) A stay-at-home Dad! Tony graciously stayed home with Abbie each day when I went to work. As he will tell you, I left him a "schedule" for each day to help him along. Really, this was just a set of driving directions for the three short activities she had already scheduled for that week (library, Little Gym, music class), and suggestions of how to work her naps and eating around them. Beyond that, I let Tony do things however he wanted. He even picked out her clothes every day!
Now, Tony also had to juggle some of his own work (similar to me juggling house chores and meal planning??), which I know was stressful for him. Luckily, the hours allowed him to go in to the office in the afternoons/evenings when he needed to meet with clients or prepare paperwork.
3) A private school student (again). Tony and I both went to private schools K-12. For me, it was because when i started school, the available public schools weren't particularly great. I continued at CLS when we moved to Charlotte, and although some might say that I missed out on being exposed to some "real life" situations in public schools, I think I got a good, well-rounded education that prepared me for those so-called "real life" situations.
Tony and I have spent some time discussing where we might send Abbie to school when she starts Kindergarten, and have talked a little about the possibility of private schooling, since that's what we both had. Well, I know quite a bit about our neighboring public schools (having worked for DPS for 5 years), but I didn't know much about the private schools. After spending 6 days working in this school, I have to say that I love their philosophies of educating their students and focusing on developing the whole child. I don't know if they apply the same principles and policies at their lower and upper schools, but I'm guessing yes.
As a teacher, I loved...
- Faculty freedom. Teachers could come and go during their planning periods, if needed. You could go get a cup of coffee (I actually don't drink coffee), or run an errand, pick up materials for your class project... whatever!
- Planning time. There was WAY more planning time built into the day than I had at my previous job. I realize that as a full-time teacher, I would have had more paperwork and responsibilities to handle during those times, but it was still so much more than I was used to. I had time to plan lessons for all classes and put work up on the board, before my first class ever arrived each day.
- Working hours 7:50-3:15. Because of the ample planning time, I felt that teachers would probably be able to get home at a decent hour on most days (any day w/o extra-curriculars), which would make it easier to manage work and family life.
- Friday breakfast. The administration provides breakfast for the faculty every Friday!! How nice!!
- Welcoming Staff.
- Plenty of technology available. Although, I'm pretty old-school when it comes to teaching, they have a lot of options for equipment that I could probably find interesting uses for in the classroom. They also gave teachers options of what they was in their room, allowing teachers to customize to their own teaching styles and needs.
For the students, I loved...
- Advisory. Students in the middle school are divided into advisory groups of about 12 students. They check-in each morning with their adviser each morning and all store their lunches and some extra stuff in that teacher's room. They meet up there at break. They eat lunch together. And they study together during "Tutorial". And, once a week, they do an advisory activity together. The students get to know each other well and learn to socialize with kids they might not have otherwise chosen to socialize with. They also develop a close relationship with their adviser.
- Honor Code, Trust. Similar to the school that I went to, students at this school leave their bookbags hanging on hooks along the outside walkways around school. Many of them leave the locks off their lockers all day. They leave books in a class that they'll need later, and the stuff is still there when they return! Ah, to be able to trust people in this world again! The honor code also stresses the importance of doing your own work, and I even heard students refer to the code in their conversations while I was there, leading me to believe that they have truly bought into its principles.
- Study skills and rotating schedule. The school runs on a rotating schedule, forcing students to be organized and keep track of their classes. They also focus on teaching the students study skills and time management. Teachers are limited on the amoun of homework they are allowed to assign each night, and are limited on when they can give tests to avoid student "overloading". Students also have a 20 minute "Tutorial" each day in which they can get help from a teacher or work on their homework.
- 45 minute lunch. Goodbye scarfing down food! These kids have time to eat, socialize and even relax outside for a few minutes before heading back to class. I think this time is so important for refueling the body, so that kids can do their very best when they are in class.
- Club time during the school day! Finally, students can take part in special-interest groups and STILL play sports, take music/dance lessons, or be in the school play. They have clubs the last period of the day, every 7th day of school. The school offers over 20 unique clubs, run by each of the faculty members. Something for everyone!
There's no doubt that I was impressed by this school. I know that it would be a stretch for us financially, even with scholarship aid, but I think it would be a mistake to not consider it for Abbie.
All in all, the past week was a wonderful experience for the three of us. I got to teach AND explore a school option. Tony got to see what it's like to stay home with Abbie. And, Abbie got to spend lots of time with her dad.
We are now re-settled into our normal routine and I just might have caught up on the housework! Abbie continues to break out of her shell as we go to group play-places and classes. She is playing more independently (not so clingy), although she allows bullies to push her away (should we work on that??). Abbie has also mastered counting to 10, sometimes 11, minus the number 7, which is still 9 (1,2,3,4,5,6,9,8,9,10). Her ABCs are almost perfect as well. (ABCD-sometimes E-FGHIJKLNN -yes, 2 Ns- OPQRSTUVWXYZ) My little girl is growing up SO fast and we're having a lot of fun! :)
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